Mary Fleischli, MD

Your doctor is correct that the chance of keloid formation on the face is much lower than on the chest.  Keloids are most likely to form on the body on the chest and shoulders (where you've had trouble).  Also the deeper the surgery- as an excision with stiches- is much more likely to produce keloid than a superficial removal as a shave or cryo therapy.

As far a removing "moles" with liquid nitrogen, dermatologists do not usually "freeze" off pigmented lesions.  We don't for two reasons.  First, true moles or pigmented lesions often do not go away with a liquid nitrogen treatment.  Secondly, most doctors like to send true moles for pathology and if you just freeze a mole off there is no tissue to send.   Often practioners use the term "mole" loosely and they may be referring to another benign lesion called a seborrheic keratosis which responds to cryo beautifully.

Bottom line- in the hands of a good doctor, mole removal on the face usually looks great even in a patient with a history of keloid formation so I say go for it!